Share this article

Share

Among the disappointed travellers were Kelly Belcher 32, and her husband Mark, both from Southend. They were due to fly out on their honeymoon to Skiathos in Greece, with their two small children and Mrs Belcher's parents.

Mrs Belcher said: 'It's devastating, we got married last Saturday and had been looking forward to this especially as it is our children's first time in a foreign country.

We spent £2,000 on this holiday and now we're just desperately hoping that something can be worked out.'

Jim Duwaine, from Portsmouth, had been due to catch an early flight to Menorca. He said: 'I am absolutely devastated. We're just trying to get some other flights, but it's not looking good.'

XL said all its flights have been cancelled and its fleet of aircraft are now grounded.

This morning the tearful XL chief executive Phil Wyatt said he was 'devastated' at the holiday company's collapse.

Wyatt said: ' I really want to apologise to passengers who want to check in this morning.

Kelly Belcher 32, and her husband Mark, were due to fly out on their honeymoon to Skiathos in Greece

He told a press conference it would be a "huge challenge" to bring home the 67,000 people currently overseas on holidays organised by XL.

He added: "The CAA, believe me, will have a huge challenge on their hands to re-protect 67,000 people that are overseas now - 67,000 people who could have flown back on XL Airways, that are going to come back on God-knows-what carriers that the CAA find.

"It's going to be the most challenging airlift, I believe, that anyone has undertaken."

Robert and Kelly Spurgeon said they had not been given any information other than that alternative flights to their destination of Tenerife could cost them anything up to £2,000 each.

The couple, from Norwich, said they had learnt that XL had gone into administration on the news in their hotel this morning but had thought they should come to the airport anyway.

Anxious travellers scan the flight information boards at Gatwick today as XL's collapse left many stuck

Mr Spurgeon, 30, who was also travelling with his five-year-old niece and seven-month-old son, said:

"We're meant to be staying in a timeshare so it's just waiting for us. I booked the flights through XL directly on my debit card so it doesn't look like I'm going to get anything back.

"We've not been told anything but my wife's been quoted £2,000 for alternative flights. It's not the end of the world but it was going to be our son's first holiday so it would have been nice to have gone."

The firm is Britain's third biggest tour operator and flies to 50 destinations, mainly in the Mediterranean and Caribbean. It flew 2.3 million British families abroad last year.

Chaos at Gatwick airport this morning as passengers discover that their flights no longer exist

Graham White, 27, an estate agent from London, arrived at Gatwick to find his holiday had been cancelled.

He said: 'We didn't find out about it until we got here. I'm pretty annoyed.'

Kim Lazarow, 26, who was travelling to the Greek island of Skiathos for a week, said:

'Everyone's been going online booking flights as soon as they found out, so I'm not sure what we're going to get.'

Seven flights into Manchester and seven into Gatwick have been cancelled, with Glasgow and Newcastle also affected.

A spokesman for Manchester Airport said: "Passengers have two choices. They can either accept their fate that they are not going on holiday or they can try to rebook with another airline.

Passengers at Gatwick queue up at the XL desk as they desperately try to get some information about their flights

"What we are saying to people due to travel this afternoon is there is no point coming to the airport.

"There is no one here from XL. If you want to rebook with another airline, most of the flights this afternoon are full to the route that were serviced by XL. You're better off shopping around on the internet."

Three XL planes have been grounded on the runway and airport service vehicles are stopping them from moving.

The airport spokesman added: "We have detained them on behalf of the administrators and we are one of the organisations that are owed money."

An XL airways flight that was due to arrive from Florida at 9.35am was diverted to Paris.

XL passengers at Manchester Airport are struggling to find alternative flights for their holidays.

Tom Penman, 42, a youth education manager from Lanarkshire, Scotland, was due to fly out to Florida with his family.

He said: "It's shocking. We've saved up for two years and now the children are in tears. It's the last family holiday.

"We didn't go on holiday last year to save up for this one. Now we're scrambling for tickets and we are stuck."

The Civil Aviation Authority advised XL travellers not to travel to their airports.

Dumped: West Ham United will have to look for new shirt sponsers

David Clover, a spokesman for the CAA, said it was making arrangements to help customers of the four tour companies within the XL group.

'In respect of people who are currently abroad we're making arrangements and working very closely with the travel industry to organise repatriation flights.

'Clearly though, with XL Airways no longer operating, we're having to bring in substitute aircraft to bring people home.'

XL's insolvency comes a month after it cancelled Caribbean flights scheduled from November and said it was cutting its daily scheduled service between Gatwick and Knock.

It is the latest setback for holidaymakers after almost 2,500 were stranded when holiday firm Seguro collapsed on Wednesday.

The XL group sells holidays under a wide range of brands as well as XL Airways itself.

Kroll confirmed today that customers who booked packages and flights with the group's tour operators were protected by the CAA's Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (Atol) scheme.

The CAA said package deals are covered by Atol and those customers will be offered repatriation flights or their money back if they have an advance booking. Atol does not extend to flights booked with XL but passengers can, for a small fee, return home on a CAA flight.

Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly said everything possible was being done to get stranded holidaymakers home.

'The CAA have a wealth of experience in dealing with these sorts of situations and are putting systems in place to get people home, while the Government stands ready to provide the CAA with operational assistance should they need it,' she said in a statement.

XL had been in talks with its lenders, Icelandic investment group Straumur and Barclays over refinancing its debt.

Lost out: An XL plane at Gatwick, where travellers were told this morning their flights had been axed

But the company insisted two weeks ago that while the market was 'challenging' it was still 'experiencing strong trading with bookings for 2009 already outperforming last year'.

An XL spokesman said last night that negotiations were continuing with third parties over refinancing. But today the group's website statement said: 'The companies entered into administration having suffered as a result of volatile fuel prices, the economic downturn, and were unable to obtain further funding.

'The joint administrators cannot continue trading the business and therefore all flights operated by the companies have been immediately cancelled and the aircraft grounded.

'Going forward, the joint administrators are unlikely to be able to trade the business or operate the aircraft.'

The group made an operating loss in its last financial year to October 2007. Figures filed at Companies House revealed that net liabilities increased from £8million to £59million during the period.

The money owed to creditors grew from £114million to £205million.

Based in Crawley, West Sussex, XL employs 1,700 people.

The bankruptcy will be a blow for West Ham United, the Premiership football club which signed a £2.5million-a-year shirt sponsorship deal with XL Leisure in February.

The failure of XL and Seguro comes after Zoom, the low-cost transatlantic airline, went into administration last month blaming the 'horrendous' price of jet fuel.

Fellow carriers including Maxjet, Eos, Silverjet and Oasis Hong Kong Airlines have also gone under this year.

XL holidaymakers abroad are advised to dial +44 208 242 4783, while those in the UK should call 0800 068 8991.

• If you have any pictures of today's airport chaos, send them to pictures@dailymail.co.uk